Upper East Side Duane Reade Closing Permanently, Company Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A longtime Duane Reade pharmacy in Yorkville is closing permanently this fall, the company confirmed, the latest in a string of store closures that have rattled New Yorkers in recent months.

The Duane Reade at 1675 Third Ave., spanning a full block between East 93rd and 94th streets, will close on Nov. 16, according to Fraser Engerman, a spokesperson for parent company Walgreens.

"As we move forward on our strategy to expand Walgreens role as a leader in the delivery of healthcare, we are focused on creating the right network of stores in the right locations to best meet the needs of the communities we serve," Engerman said.

Engerman said the company had considered several factors, including "dynamics of the local market and changing buying habits of our customers."

The Yorkville pharmacy had been open since at least 2009, first occupying the block's north corner before expanding into the vacant south storefront around 2012.

Duane Reade suffered a difficult pandemic, closing 70 stores across the city in 2020, according to The Real Deal. Other chains are seeing similar trends, with Rite Aid closing dozens of stores across the U.S. last year and CVS planning to shutter hundreds of locations in the coming years.

While some residents and media outlets have named crime and shoplifting as potential causes — including for this particular Duane Reade — the companies themselves have pointed to bigger industry-wide trends, such as the growth of online shopping.

Similar pharmacy closures have upset New Yorkers from Astoria to Hell's Kitchen, where residents banded together last fall in an unsuccessful effort to save a popular Duane Reade on Ninth Avenue.

Have an Upper East Side news tip? Contact reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.